N. Woodstock, NH — A hot and humid day among the White Mountains greeted thirty-nine American-Canadian Tour teams with the international stars invading New Hampshire’s Favorite Short Track for the Tour’s longest event of the year. The $10,000-to-win Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 has been marked on many a calendar since last November’s ACT schedule release and the teams proved it on Saturday.

Three rounds of qualifying whittled thirty-nine teams down to twenty-nine starters. Rookies Jeremy Sorel and Kaiden Fisher split the heat race wins with former American-Canadian Tour champions D.J. Shaw and Patrick Laperle while Erick Sands and Bryan Wall, Jr. took down the consolation round. Leading Serie ACT Quebec driver Raphael Lessard took the Last Chance, B-Feature to qualify into Saturday’s main event.

By virtue of his +5 handicap in the ACT Plus/Minus qualifying system, defending champion D.J. Shaw led the field to green with Tom Carey III to his outside. The early circuits gave way to a nose-to-tail freight train as the field kept it calm and cool with plenty of laps to go. As the event kept on, Jamie Swallow, Jr. and Gabe Brown came up on D.J. Shaw just in time for lap traffic to take its toll on the leaders.

Several one-car spin cautions slowed the field but it was the competition caution on lap 126 that played into the game. Tires and fuel were added to the majority of the field during their 5-minute caution before retaking the field for the final 124 circuits. Shaw, Brown and Swallow continued to dominate the front of the field. With Shaw up high, Brown dug deep on the low side as Swallow, Jimmy Hebert and Tom Carey III.

The final fifty laps proved to be the best of the evening starting right on lap 200 as Shaw, Carey and Brown ran nose-to-tail on the high groove around lap traffic to start the final sprint to the end. Fourteen laps later, and clear of lap traffic, Brown only gained on Shaw for the lead until calamity struck on lap 226. A piece of wire would lodge itself in the sidewall of Gabe Brown’s right front tire and send the second-place runner nearly into the turn three tire barrier.

The chaos continued just four laps later as Jamie Swallow, Jr. and top-five runner Kasey Beattie traded paint and more with Swallow going around in turn three after pin-balling through the top-10. A thirty-lap shoot-out ensued with Shaw and Beattie duking it out lap after lap. Beattie attempting to psych Shaw from behind, moving up and down lanes before drawing alongside under the ten-to-go signal. Try as he might, Beattie just couldn’t get the car to stick alongside Shaw. Under the twin checkered flags it was D.J. Shaw taking home his second career Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 followed by Tom Carey III beating Kasey Beattie at the line to take to take second from the 2023 King of the Mountain track champion

The Stars and Cars of the American-Canadian are back in action to headline the ‘Saturday Night Before the Oxford 250’ on Saturday, August 24 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway. The Oxford Plains 125 will once again showcase the international stars on one of New England’s biggest weekends of stock car racing! Post Time Saturday, August 24 is set for 4:00pm.

For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.  You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

7th annual Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250

White Mountain Motorsports Park – N. Woodstock, NH

Saturday, August 3, 2024

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

1.         04VT    DJ Shaw                       Center Conway, NH

2.         5MA    Tom Carey III               New Salem, MA

3.         45NH   #Kasey Beattie             St. Johnsbury, VT

4.         25NH   Jesse Switser               W. Burke, VT

5.         21QC   Alexendre Tardif         Notre Dame des Pins, QC

6.         47NH   Gabe Brown                Center Conway, NH

7.         18VT    #Kaiden Fisher             Shelburne, VT

8.         91QC   Patrick Laperle            St-Denis, QC

9.         77NH   Bryan Wall Jr.              E. Kingston, NH

10.       03MA  Derek Gluchacki         Dartmouth, MA

11.       97NH   Joey Polewarczyk        Hudson, NH

12.       36NH   Erick Sands                  Derry, NH

13.       68VT    Brooks Clark               Fayston, VT

14.       7MA    #Jeremy Sorel             Westfield, MA

15.       53NH   Jeremy Davis               Tamworth, NH

16.       48QC   Raphael Lessard         St-Joseph, QC

17.       41QC   Jonathan Bouvrette   Blainville, QC

18.       33QC   Remi Perreault           St. Paul, QC

19.       27NH   Cam Huntress             Rochester, NH

20.       0VT      Scott Dragon               Milton, VT

21.       4NH     Jamie Swallow Jr.        Lancaster, NH

22.       10NH   Bryan Mason              Stark, NH

23.       58VT    Jimmy Hebert             Williamstown, VT

24.       11QC   Claude Leclerc             Lanoraie, QC

25.       68NH   Tanner Woodard        Waterbury Ctr., VT

26.       92VT    Jaden Perry                 Hardwick, VT

27.       00VT    Brandon Gray             E. Thetford, VT

28.       01VT    Stephen Martin          Craftsbury Common, VT

29.       78NH   Quinten Welch           Groveton, NH

DNQ    73MA  #Cole Littlewood        Orange, MA

DNQ    29ME   Cole Robie                  Windham, ME

DNQ    22VT    Peyton Lanphear        Waterbury, VT

DNQ    61NH   Ryan Olsen                  N. Haverhill, NH

DNQ    32NH   Jeff Marshall               Littleton, NH

DNQ    2VT      Stephen Donahue      Graniteville, VT

DNQ    55VT    Keegan Lamson          Berlin, VT

DNQ    46x      Brian Hoar                  S. Hero, VT

DNQ    04NH   Shawn Swallow           Groveton, NH

DNQ    21VT    Reilly Lanphear           Waterbury, VT